TOP 10 Abraham Lincoln Accomplishments – [Quotes & Video Included]

Some historians believe that Abraham Lincoln Accomplishments are the greatest among all the Presidents of the United States ever.

Remember, Abraham Lincoln accomplishments are not all in the field of politics. The Kentucky – born on a poor farmer’s land managed his way to the President’s chair in 1860 when he was elected as the 16th President of the States. Abraham Lincoln faced many obstacles during his time as President, and not only he managed to overcome them, but he also made many changes in the society that developed the States into better place to live.

He was the first President to establish the US Department of Agriculture, the Thanksgiving as a national holiday and the Homestead Act, he improved the higher education in the States and put the end on the Civil War. Besides that, he is the only President with a patent for invention!

1. He Became President of the United States

Thanks to the support he had form the North and the West, Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 elections and became the 16th president of the United States. With that, he was the first Republican president, roughly beating his Democrat opponents. He received 1,866,452 votes, which represented 40 percent of the total votes and that made him approximately 500.000 votes ahead of his opponents. He won the Northern states, California and Oregon. Abraham Lincoln served as President of the United Stated from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.

2. He signed the Homestead Act

via homesteadingmontana.org

President Lincoln signed this act in 1862 and with that the government gave small lands to farmers. They had to be at least 21 years old and the head of the family. The homesteaders were also obligated to build a house on that property and try their luck with farming. If the homesteader proved his farming successful, after five years he would receive a deed making him the owner of the land after paying a fee, and if not successful, he had to return the land to the government. Many people saw the Homestead Act as a chance for a better life!

3. He is the Only President to Hold a Patent

via blog.modernmechanix.com

Abraham Lincoln was always interested in mechanics, a trait that he inherited from his father who was also something of a mechanic. President Lincoln started working on his invention in 1848 while he was in the Congress and he even had lectures on discoveries and inventions before he became a President. He designed a device for lifting boats over shoals and in 1849 he received Patent No. 6469 for his invention. With this, he is the only President of the United Stated that has a patent for his own invention! However, the device was never really used and the patent model is located in the Smithsonian Institution.

4. He Issued the Emancipation Proclamation

via civilwardailygazette.com

President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, with which he would free more three million slaves of the Confederate States, but the Proclamation didn’t affect the slaved from the Border States. The proclamation also called for black military units to fight together with the Union Forces, that resulted with more than 100.000 African Americans fighting in the Civil War. However, the Emancipation Proclamation wasn’t a law passed by the Congress, so Lincoln insisted on antislavery amendment to the U.S. Constitution which will make his proclamation come true. Unfortunately, even though the Congress passed it in 1865, slaves in the States stayed in bad position for many years after that.

5. He Established the US National Banking System

via worldbanknotescoins.com

President Lincoln together with the Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase conceived the National Banking System, instituted the first general income tax in the States and started printing paper money, which back then were called “Greenbacks“. Abraham Lincoln believed that for a country to have good and reliable economics, it is important to have a national currency and bank credit to help the citizens. That is was why he was so proud when he signed the National Currency Act in 1863.

6. He Established the US Department of Agriculture

via corncorps.com

On May 15 in 1862, President Lincoln signed the bill on establishing the Department of Agriculture. With this establishment, he transformed and expanded the agriculture in the States. Lincoln himself grew on a poor farm in Kentucky and that gave him the needed experience to understand the need of a better agriculture system in the country. He deemed the department as “The People’s Department” and appointed Isaac Newton as the first Commissioner of Agriculture. Lincoln decided to turn to Newton because his farms were successful and seen as models.

7. He Improved Education in the States

via transportationyou.org

One of the greatest Abraham Lincoln Accomplishments is when he signed the Morrill Act, or also known as the Land Grant College Act in 1862 and it was a great boost to the higher education in the States. With this Act, the states were provided with public lands on which they built universities that offered specializing in agriculture, military tactics and mechanics. The act got the name by the Vermont Congressmen Justin Morrill who introduced the Land Grant bill to the House of Representatives in 1857. Even though some historians believe that Lincoln had little influence in the Congress when it comes to this act, he still believed and worked on improving the education among the Americans.

8. He Led the Union to Victory

via quotesgram.com

One of the most respected Abraham Lincoln Accomplishments

As a president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln believed that it is his duty to preserve the Union. Lincoln has seriously accepted his role as a commander in chief and risked his life during the Civil War while leading the Union to victory. At the beginning, he was a commander in chief that had a little experience on the battlefield. However, that wasn’t an obstacle too long for him. He read and worked hard to improve his and the Union’s military tactics. It was successful because he led the Union to victory in 1865 which ended the Civil War. He managed to succeed, even though at the beginning there were many people who disagreed and wanted to leave the Union. One of the things that Lincoln was criticized about during the Civil War is exactly his treatment to civil liberties.

9. He Contributed to the Reconstruction

via haikudeck.com

After the Civil War there was a great damage in the States, especially in the South. President Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which is also known as his Ten Percent Plan that was supposed to help the rebel states. The plan offered a political pardon to any Confederate (the highest Confederate officials were excluded) who would agree under the terms of the President to support the Union an the Constitution as well. There were disagreements over the Ten Percent Plan, because some radical Republicans thought the plan was going too easy on the Confederates. However, after the assassination of Lincoln, these disagreements over the reconstructions were even larger.

10. He Signed the Thanksgiving Proclamation

via thoughtsfromaconservativemom.com

President Abraham Lincoln signed the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863 in token of gratitude because of the Union’s victory at Gettysburg. That proclamation made the Thanksgiving officially a national holiday for the Americans. It was celebrated every November on the fourth Thursday until 1939, when President Franklin Roosevelt moved the holiday during end of the Great Depression in order to provide better business conditions between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

If you want to know more about Abraham Lincoln’s life and accomplishments check out this awesome documentary film or purchase “Lincoln“, a book by David Herbert Donald.